Book

[hawkfish21]

Just wondering who has this book? Good, Bad? Comments welcome.
http://clamsdirect.com/store/product...0&cat=2&page=1

[critterkeeper]

Here's a review by Bob Goemans:

http://www.liquid-medium.com/Goemans_review.doc

And here's a recent post by mbbuna:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=968202


I'm the author - so I'd better keep my own opinions to myself though...

[a4twenty]

i'm getting it for xmas

[wakesetter]

I read through it the other day and thought it was pretty cheesy compared to Knop's book. Literally a little too goofy. Some good info, but not as good as Knop.

[mbbuna]

Originally posted by wakesetter
I read through it the other day and thought it was pretty cheesy compared to Knop's book. Literally a little too goofy. Some good info, but not as good as Knop.

your kidding me!

did you read the whole thing or just flip through the pages? James does try to keep a light hearted feel to it and im sure he did this to avoid being too much like a text book.

this book also dispels more then a few myths and misconceptions about clams with the science to back it up. chapter 2 is incredible, it covers nutrition and explains in depth exactly how zoox contribute to the clam and how much. Knop devoted a whole 2 pages to nutrition and they consist of "feed them yeast"(thats very natural for clams) and blood is real good for them too.

[GreshamH]

I'm with Mbbuna on this. While it's light hearted, its WAY more up to date then Knops, and far less text bookish. I loved how James backed up everything he wrote, with references to research papers.

[Sal Amato]

Just buy both books and you have your bases covered.

[mbbuna]

[welcome]

hey Sal good to see some from DE

heres our club forum http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...s=&forumid=260

[a4twenty]

i have knop's book and it does read a bit like a text book ( i have no problem with that ) but it will be nice to get a new updated reference ( can't remember but i think knop's book is about 10 yrs old. )

so i'm with Sal Amato, i'll take both please and like it.

PS: my brother says he can't find it anywhere ( living in canada can have its downfalls ) , i think we'll have to pay for some shipping from the US. if any canadians out there have found it please PM me

[Unarce]

by wakesetter
I read through it the other day and thought it was pretty cheesy compared to Knop's book. Literally a little too goofy. Some good info, but not as good as Knop.

I definitely wouldn't consider James' spirited writing as cheesy or goofy It's a must have handbook for any clam keeper. The new testament to Knop's old testament, if you will

[wakesetter]

Yes, as I said before there is alot of greatinfo in the book and it is quite informative, especially for someone new to clams. I prefer a more textbook like approach instead of the "spirited" writting. Perhaps this is because I have a degree in ecology and systematic biology and I am used to the textbook type of info.

I did not read every page of the book, but I did look through it for about 15 minutes and read several complete parts of the book.

Either way it is a book full of info for anyone interested in clams. Maybe there is some better infor than Knop's book, I just liked his approach better and thought that for the most part it was a rewrite of Knops book, which if Knops book is no longer available might not be a bad thing.

[critterkeeper]

Just dropping by...

Wakesetter, everybody has their own idea of what a good writing style is, so I would never knock you (or anybody else) for not liking mine. However, if you think it's a re-write of Knop's book for the most part, then I can't help but think you haven't read much of it. For the most part, I disagree with essentially every thing Knop wrote that's not strictly research/fact-based. I don't mean to be disrespectful to Daniel (I know the guy and he actually helped with the book), but he had far less to work with information-wise 10 years ago - and far, far less aquarium experience than I have.

If you want to see differences, look at the sections on the commissure looking like teeth, mantle patterns being camo, the fact that hyaline organs are actually parts of the eyes, that iridophores don't do what he thought they did, how croceas bore, the use of yeast-based foods, how to feed them, many diseases, etc.,etc., etc. For that matter, if I remember right, he also wrote that all tridacnids should be kept under nothing less than 250w metal halides, and that 150w wouldn't be enough. And, essentially every bit of Chapter 2 should be news to any hobbyist. I had never heard any of what I dug up to write that one, and in the process found that much of what has been written in hobbyist literature about tridacnid nutrition was wrong (including a lot of the stuff Shimek says in the articles listed on this forum as "excellent reading")... Additionally, if you look at the difference in the bibliographies - Knop's is a little more than 4 pages, while mine is more than 10. I did my homework.

Again, not looking for an argument of any sort, or saying you can't have your own opinion, but please read the work I put into it before calling it a re-write of someone else's book. I think you'll find that it's far from it.

Thanks,

James

P.S. Also, thanks to everyone for the postitive remarks (Wakesetter, too). Yep, I want to make a few bucks from it - but helping hobbyists (and clams) by putting out much-needed information is every bit as important to me.

[Giovanni]

critterkeeper,

Nothing wrong with trying to make a few bucks as long as it is done fair. That is the American dream. BTW my sister lives in Tampa. Maybe the next time I am in town we could have dinner. My treat.

[Jayreefer]

I have James book. I won it at our local monthly hobbiest meeting. It has more info in it than I could handle. I read so much info that I need to read it again jut to remeber half. I have not read the other book, but I now have answers for any clam question that I might have.

[mbbuna]

Originally posted by critterkeeper
(including a lot of the stuff Shimek says in the articles listed on this forum as "excellent reading")

someone brought up one of Shimeks articles(from the DT's website) the other day on another board. i hadn't read it in a few years so i gave it another read. he must have used info from like 1850 or something.

some of the bad info from the article

clam contain zoox in there blood

they are dependent on phytoplankton for 65% of there CA needs

there mantles aren't large enough to fulfill the other 35% of CA untill they are 4"

if you ask me he wrote that article just for DT's to help them sell phyto

[critterkeeper]

He also completely avoided the fact that they can absorb nitrogen and claimed that ALL clam deaths are due to starvation (ridiculous).

BTW - I've got a copy of the paper he cited that talks about the "small mantle" problem - and it actually says exactly the opposite. The authors found that zoox numbers are HIGHEST per gram of tissue in small clams and decrease with age.

Yeah, not hard to figure out what's going on there...

Unfortunate, as I used to have a lot of respect for Shimek - until I checked all his cited references. I've been writing for about 8 years now and will be the first to admit that I've unintentionally said things that were wrong (typically by repeating something I learned elsewhere that was wrong - without double checking the facts myself), but in Shimek's case it's either total incompetence, or intentional. And he's not an idiot...

I should thank him though - the "mis-information" in those articles and elsewhere is one the primary reasons I felt compelled to write the book.


P.S. To ICURN, and anyone else that visits Tampa, I'm always up for grabbing some food and beer. Drop me a line and I'll try to make the time.

[mbbuna]

oops, i meant C/E(carbon energy) not CA

[hawkfish21]

Thanks for the input everyone. I will be ordering this book very soon.

[piscivorous]

In regards to "making a few bucks on the book"....coming from another author, I can truely say that any author publishing a book is doing it more for the love of the subject, and passing on information to collegues. If an author makes ANY money off of their books then they are doing very well. I just broke even with the books I published...but I did it for the love of the subject. I look forward to adding this new clam book to my library. I can certainly appreciate the amount of time, effort, and headache that goes into getting a book out on the shelves for others.

[GreshamH]

P.S. To ICURN, and anyone else that visits Tampa, I'm always up for grabbing some food and beer. Drop me a line and I'll try to make the time.

Your on

[shari]

Originally posted by mbbuna
someone brought up one of Shimeks articles(from the DT's website) the other day on another board. i hadn't read it in a few years so i gave it another read. he must have used info from like 1850 or something.

some of the bad info from the article

clam contain zoox in there blood

they are dependent on phytoplankton for 65% of there CA needs

there mantles aren't large enough to fulfill the other 35% of CA untill they are 4"

if you ask me he wrote that article just for DT's to help them sell phyto

How Sad. Do you get your jollys by belittling people?

Shari

[shari]

Originally posted by critterkeeper
He also completely avoided the fact that they can absorb nitrogen and claimed that ALL clam deaths are due to starvation (ridiculous).

BTW - I've got a copy of the paper he cited that talks about the "small mantle" problem - and it actually says exactly the opposite. The authors found that zoox numbers are HIGHEST per gram of tissue in small clams and decrease with age.

Yeah, not hard to figure out what's going on there...

Unfortunate, as I used to have a lot of respect for Shimek - until I checked all his cited references. I've been writing for about 8 years now and will be the first to admit that I've unintentionally said things that were wrong (typically by repeating something I learned elsewhere that was wrong - without double checking the facts myself), but in Shimek's case it's either total incompetence, or intentional. And he's not an idiot...

I should thank him though - the "mis-information" in those articles and elsewhere is one the primary reasons I felt compelled to write the book.


P.S. To ICURN, and anyone else that visits Tampa, I'm always up for grabbing some food and beer. Drop me a line and I'll try to make the time.

Im sure Dr. Shimek will be happy to read your post


Shari

[mbbuna]

Originally posted by shari
How Sad. Do you get your jollys by belittling people?

Shari

[jmaneyapanda]

if you want a textbook- go elsewhere. if you want a wonderful guide and reference. this is the book for you.

[Sal Amato]

So much fighting in this section of RC. Peace !